Cap gun construction



Jan. 22, 1957 A." K. MELIN 2,778,138

CAP GUN CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 20, 1952 35 O. P D: 30%

@(Ilo ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 2,778,138 CAP CGNSTRUfiTION Arthu'r K; Melin,Pasadena, Calif. Appucafim October 20, 19 52, Seiial N6. 315,613 9claims, (CL- 42:54)

The present invention relates generally to cap guns, either rifles orpistols, and more particularly to a cap propelling a projectile. II I IThe familiar cap pistol is a light, inexpensive toy built to theapproximate size and representation of 'aregular revolver. A cap pistolof this character can be made the basis of a useful target pistolwhich;is able to give than the ordinary barre This tube'net only serves as abarrel for holding a shot-used as theprojectile fired but also providesachamber for confining the explosion from It is the geheral object of myiavefition to rovide a small diameter'tub'efinawap pistolof thischaracter iii such a mafinerthar-ieis positie'ned" in prace m-p' peland: to -direct the: fli ht of a small prejeetileg usin mefer-"tastefiiri th'e tiib'e 1ft plaeetuaris simpleandiiiiipen sive. ofprimary consideration siiie the cap Cost 1s I II pistol which isthe'basfic pait 6f the fihal pidduer is itselfcomparatively ihexpensiv'd (any a irsute; of Wd-rk m nim-tryin it fe rget shoo'tin'ge'anbejustified apes 1 D I into-the tube in order t6 eat-am ss adeq'iia'te prI g; force from the explosion of an ordinary paper percussion" er anduniform perfermaliee' necesisaty order to provide a-= desirable degreeofaecuraey te 'the-fihished+produch The aboveandotheraobjects-of'myvinventiofi have been attained in-a cap pistobhaying afr-ame jand a- 'hammer pivotally mounted on; theframe tg strikeapereussion cap-to. fire it,-;.b y providing a-tub for holding anddirect ing .ap r" ojectile -which is typicall-yaemall ammr aad carr hthefrear end of 2,778,138 Patented Jan. 22, 1957 f6 56 s ag. he hamm r-Jetr, flie surfa ce on the anvil cap rests in position For a tube ofsmall diam- I I II I I I I against which the cap rests is preferably anannular surface which is relatively narriow and generally flat,

Whieh the explosive force from the cap is directed; I

How theabove Objects and advantages of my invention, as Well as othersnot specifically referred to herein, are attained will bebetterunderst'o'od by reference to the following description and to theannexed drawings, in which: I Fig; 1' is a side elevationof a cap pistolembodying a preferred formof my invention; I I I I Fig: 2' is" atransverse set'io'n through the barrel on liDBj2'-2 0fF1 g l; I k I tFig; 3 is: an enlarged fragmentary section showir'i'gjn elevation therear end of the tube and the anvil for the cap,'tai e'n' on line 3 of 1;I I I Fig. 4 is air enlarged fragmentary longitudinal median sectionat'the' rear end of the tube showing a' cap i rr place against the endor the tube; ready for firing; I a

Fig. 5 is a' View similar to 4 showing a' modified form-of myinvntieh; IFig; 6 is a'vi'ev'V sirfiilar to 4 showinganother niodi fication of myinvention; and I I II I Fig;*7 is a"view"o'f the reai end" of the shot'tube only of the mbdifieatien of -F'i 6. I I I II II t II Refer'fin'gniiv'v" to the drawings,- the frame of the pistol is indicated generallyat 1'4) nd includes Barrel 11 Ihe' frame and banal are qi'swmari y'rnadeof two separate castings thafarecloselysiniilar but'o f op II tehand', ahd are" Subaru "e: 'llil e c a' s t iii g'Is are joed over avet? near median 'p'lah'e" but 'dondt engage each other closely.Ham'fiiei is piviital'ly mounted at ldl on the frame'to have betwee thelowfed" at fihggposition Snow's in or. cocked position shown 1 iii ig.'4. The hammerisflreleasedfby manually appli triggerTI Sftl I e' usualmanner. The rear, peifrit ra'nie carries a" pail-f of wooden grips 16'that pro v 'ide a Handle thefpis'tolis held;

The A M K and Figs 1 and the retfaet'edf I'm-red; onl fianie 1 0 for Ig' aproi ectil which is preferably I s' e t ked 81 w $522 n e tube 20-dire'c'tsi the fiightpf projectile 22, naasaersimnag to the barrelof anordinar fsreaim I I I distinguish it frombarrel 11'. 'lhe insidediameter of time) 2018-0111; slightly in' e i cess of thediaineter ofthe projectile used. For example, used, theifislideidiameter of t h e.11 inch; but o f course a larger or smaller projectile may be used,andr the tlibe diameter changed accordingly.

Tiib'e2l)"is"p'referably located inside barrel 11 and the fiam'e of thepistol, to avoid altering the general external appearance of thecdns'truc'tio isotai described is entirely co'niv nj-i the I purpose I tis here referred to. as a tube in order when No. 6 lead shot are tube ispreferablyabout or atleast substantially so, inordr' pistol. The exactposition of the tube may be chiefly determined by two things,convenience, in order to avoid extensive alterations of the existingdesign of a pistol frame, and the path of falling hammer 12. The rearend of tube 20 is located in'the path of the hammer in order properly toposition the cap for firing, as will be explained later. Here, the upperportion of the barrel has been cut away as shown in Fig. 2 to allow tube20 to pass between the two halves of the barrel wall and above bosses 23inside barrel 11. The tube is held in place at the forward end by bentmetal strip 24 which also projects above the tube in order to provide afront sight24a, as shown clearly in Fig. 2. The ends of strip 24'arefastened inside the barrel in any suitable manner.

The rear end of tube 20 is properly positioned in the path of hammer 12by frame element 26 which is a transversely extending wall memberforming the conventional imperforate anvil against which the percussioncaps rest when struck by hammer 12. Frame element 26 is provided with anopening 27 through which tube 20 passes.

In a preferred embodiment of my invention, tube 20 projects rearwardlybeyond rear surface 30 of frame element 26 and the projecting portion ofthe tube is bent over outwardly to form a narrow flange 28 which, beinglarger in diameter than hole 27, rests against the rear face of frameelement 26. Flange 28 may be formed in any suitable manner, as byhammering or spinning the end of the tube. The flange provides aforwardly facing shoulder that engages rear face 30 of the frame elementin order to hold the tube in place against forward longitudinal movementwith respect to the frame. It is preferable to provide tube 20 with aslight constriction as at 20a for the purpose of limiting the rearwardtravel of shot 22. This constriction is close to but spaced inwardly ashort distance from the extreme end of the tube. If the constriction isformed so that it tapers the bore of the tube slightly, it mayfrictionally engage the shot and hold it from rolling out the muzzle endof the tube when the pistol is tilted forwardly and down.

To the rear of constriction 20a, with a tapered reamer so that the boreof the tube increases in diameter toward the rear end of the tube. Thethickness of the tube walls is correspondingly diminished. The thinnerwall adjacent the end of the tube makes it easier to bend over the tubewall to form flange 28 and at the same time obtain atight engagementwith frame element 26. It will be noted that in this case the externaldiameter of the tube forward of flange 28 is uniform.

The outer or rearward face of flange 28 is so shaped that, when viewedfrom the rear as in Fig. 3, it has a narrow, annular surface 32 which isgenerally fiat, although it is not necessary that it be exactly fiat.Ordinarily, this surface may be slightly rounded when viewed in profile;but it is described as being generally flat in order to distinguish itfrom a surface having a sharp edge or points which would cut or dent apaper cap. Annular surface 32 is located in a plane transverse to theaxis of tube 20 and in the path of hammer 12; and it provides an anvilagainst which paper cap 34 rests, as shown in Fig. 4, preparatory tofiring the pistol.

It has been found advantageous to provide an annular surface of thischaracter on the anvil supporting the cap. Being narrow andapproximately flat, it seals well with the cap all the way around theend of the. shot tube and the explosive force of the powder charge isconfined by the tube and directed into the tube against the projectile.If surface 32 is too narrow or sharp it is much more difficult to obtaina satisfactory seal against the cap. The parts at this point are subjectto a certain amount of corrosion as well as accumulation of powderresidue and a surface on the anvil of the character described has beenfound to minimize any ill effects from these sources. The paper cap,when fired, acts to some extent like a gasket between the anvil andhammer 12 that assists in confining the explosive force from the capwithin the open end of tube 20.

the tube is reamed The space within tube 20 the end of the tube wherecap 34 is located, acts much like the chamber of a rifle to confine thepropelling force. The conventional cap pistol has so many cracks andopenings that without tube 20 the propelling force would be dissipated,much escaping to the atmosphere. The en'- tire construction issimplified by mounting the anvil means rigidly on the end of the tube,as by using an integral portion of the tube. Because the open end of thetube is inside the annular anvil, the anvil may be termed a perforateanvil in distinction to the usual imperforate plate used when the cap isexploded for sound effects only.

The effectiveness of the seal provided by a narrow surface on anvil 32is important in that a closely uniform force is thus given to eachprojectile. This is because the entire explosive force from a definitearea of the cap is used each time to propel the shot; whereas if theseal is poor at any point around the periphery of the anvil a variableamount of the explosive force is lost each time wherever the seal is noteffective. Then the result is that the projectile is given a differentvelocity or trajectory each time the pistol is fired. A good contactbetween the anvil and the cap, or between the anvil and the hammer withthe cap acting like a gasket between them to improve the seal, isimportant in a cap gun since the cap pistol is of no value for targetshooting if it does not possess at least a reasonable degree of accuracywithin its shorter ranges.

The high quality of the seal at this point is promoted by the narrowradial width of'the anvil, which also has the advantage of producing arelatively high unit pressure up on the cap as the hammer falls, thusassuring that each and every cap is fired. At the same time, the anvilsur-- face is wide enough to be free from sharp edges or points thatwould merely cut or indent the cap and produce a misfire.

By taper reaming the terminal section of tube 20, the diameter of theopening at the end of the tube is increased relative to the internaldiameter of the major portion of the tube which is of uniform diameterin order properly to guide the projectile. Enlarging the end of the tubewhen it is of comparatively small diameter has the advantage that agreater explosive. force is gathered from a larger portion of the capthan would be the case without reaming the tube. This effect can beincreased by further increasing the area of the end opening of the tubewith respect to the area of the main portion of the tube which guidesthe projectile.

A shot 22 can berammed home or the powder deposits cleaned out by a ramrod as indicated at 35 in Fig. 1.

There is shown in Fig. 5 a variational form of my invention whichincludes essentially the same features of construction as alreadydescribed except for a change in the shape of the terminal section ofthe tube. In this construction, hole 27a is of rearwardly increasingdiameter, being preferably tapered. The terminal section 20b of tube 20,rearwardly of constriction 20a, is flared outwardly and preferablyconforms to the shape of hole 27a. The external surface of this taperedsection of the tube provides the forwardly facing shoulder which, byengagement with the sides of hole 27a, holds the tube against forwarddisplacement relative to frame element 26.

Flared terminal section 20b of the tube may be formed in any suitablemanner, as by a spinning operation. In this way it is possible toenlarge the end opening of the tube to a diameter typically between twoand three times the diameter of the major portion of the tube. Theresultant area of the opening at the end of the tube may then be atleast four or more times the cross sectional area of the main portion ofthe tube. This is a greater enlargement of the end of the tube thanattained with the construction shown in Fig. 4 and it is thus possibleto apply a correspondingly greater propelling force from the cap sinceeither a larger area on a given cap is enbetween projectile 22 andcompass'ed by the anvil surface 32. or a larger cap may be used. t

It is 'preferable'th'at tube 26 project rearwardlyslightly beyondsurface 30 of frame element 26 as shown in Fig. in order that theannular anvil be well defined. In this construction anvil 32a is.provided by the annular end surface of the tube and retains perforatecharacteristic and is rigidly mounted on tube 20 at the rear end of thetube, as before. It may be'desirabl'e togrind or otherwise finish thisend surface in order to. give it a suitable degree of flatness.

Another variational form of invention is shown in Fig. 6 in which thesmooth bore tube. 3:5 iscomparativcly of much larger diameter than tube20. Tube 20 is designed to take a particular lead shot or similarprojectile 22 with 'close clea rance: Tube36 is much larger in diameterin order to take a variety of projectiles, such as lead shot, beans, orother similar objects. In order to adapt th-etube toarticles ofdifferent sizes, it is provided with a double frusto-coriibal insert 38.The outside diameter of insert '38 is substantially thesame as theinternal diameter of tube 36 so that the insert is a snug sliding fitinside the tube and when pushed into place it is held firmly byfrictional engagement with the tube. The seal "between the insert andtube can thus: be made sufficiently tight without gaskets or the like toprevent leakage of the gases from the explosion of the cap.

The forward conical portion 38a of the insert tapers down gradually to asmall diameter at its rear end, typically about $5 inch. The gradualtaper enables objects of different sizes to be seated at some positionalong the cone with a sufficiently close fit to be shot from theexploded. Of course the position A shot, ward end of gradually taperingportion 38a, while an object of larger diameter would become seated atsome point forwardly of the position shown.

The taper given to the rearward conical portion of insert 38 is notcritical. It is preferably a more rapid taper as shown in order toreduce the overall length of the insert. This rearward taper serves togather the explosive force from a chamber of larger diameter orcross-section and direct it through the constricted part of insert 38against the rear side of the object to be propelled.

In the forms of my invention shown in Figs. 4 and 5,v the constrictioninside tube 20 is made by working the tube to reduce both the inside andoutside diameters; but here the change in diameter required is so greatthat it is easier to provide tube 36 with an insert, which becomes ineffect a part of the tube, than it is to work the tube to produce thedesired reduction in diameter of the tube wall.

As before, the tube passes through an opening 27b in frame element 26 toposition the rear end of the tube. The forward end may be held withinbarrel 11 in any suitable way, as by providing small bosses 11b insidethe barrel.

The diameter of tube 36 may be such that it is larger than the powdercharge of cap 34 and therefore a different type of anvil means ismounted on the rear end of the tube. Here the anvil means takes the formof shown particularly in Fig. 7. It

Within the wall of tube 36, permits the force of the explosion to enterthe end of the tube. Thus the anvil means still has its perforatecharacteristic. The hammer hits against the end of the tube and causesthe force of the'explosion to be directed into thetubc. Thepaper'portion of cap 34 around the powder tcharge acts as "a gasket betweenthe anvil and hammer 12 to contain the force of the explosion. The -rearend of tube 36 and the rear faces of the two bars 40 are preferably in acommon plane which is located slightly to the rear of the rearward face30 of frame element 26. This construction .is shown in Fig. 6 andcorresponds with instructions vpreviously described. Alternatively, thecentral portion of bars 40 may be slightly dished or concave to improvethe sealing effect of the paper portion of the cap around the powdercharge, but the rear faces of the bars are still substantially flushwith the rear end of the tube.

Having described a preferred embodiment of my invention and certainmodifications thereof, it will be apparent that various changes mayoccur to persons skilled in the art without departing from the spiritand scope of my invention. Consequently, it is-to beunderstood that theforegoing description is-considered asbeing illustrative of, rather thanlimitative upon, the appended claims.

i claim:

1. In a cap gun having a frame and a hammer pivotally mounted on theframe for firing a percussion cap',

against forward displacement, and anvil means rigidly mounted on therear end of the tube, said anvil having a annular surface in a planetransverse to the axis of the tube against which a cap rests in positionto be struck by the hammer.

2. In a cap gun having a frame ally mounted the tube in the path of thehammer, the rear end of the tube projecting slightly beyond the rearface of said frame element; and perforate anvil means mounted on therear end of the tube and spaced slightly rearwardly of the rear face ofthe frame member and against which a cap may rest in position to bestruck by the hammer, said anvil means providing a narrow, annular capengaging surface that has a central opening of a diameter substantiallyequal to the internal diameter of the tube.

3. In a cap gun having a frame and a hammer pivotand an element of theframe having the tube passes to position the rear end of the tube in thepath of the hammer, the tube having a forwardly facing annular shoulderadjacent the rear end engaging the frame element to hold the tubeagainst longitudinal movement forwardly relative to the frame.

4. A cap gun as in claim 3 in which the forwardly facing shoulder isprovided by a flared terminal section of the tube, the outer surface ofthe flared section engaging the sides of the hole through the frameelement.

5. A cap gun as in claim 3 in which the forwardly facing shoulder isprovided by an integral flange at the end of the tube engaging the rearsurface of the frame element.

6. In a cap gun having a frame and a hammer pivotally mounted on theframe for firing a percussion cap, the combination comprising: acylindrical tube mounted on the frame for holding and directing theflight of a projectile; a double frusto-conical insert inside the tubeproviding a constriction in the bore of said tube of smaller diameterthan the diameter either side of the insert; and. anvil means rigidlymounted on the rear open end of the tube against which a cap rests inposition to be struck by the hammer.

7. In a toy cap pistol having a frame with a barrel and a cap firingmember movably mounted on the frame at a position rearwardly of thebarrel for firing a percussion cap, the combination comprising: acylindrical tube substantially within the barrel and extendingrearwardly therefrom into the path of the firing member, said tube beingparallel to' and smaller in diameter than the barrel and adapted todirect the flight of a projectile; and a stationary frame element havinga hole through which the tube passesysaid tube having annular shouldermeans that engages the frame element to hold the tube against forwarddisplacement and the rear end of the tube forrn-' ing an annular anvilagainst which a percussion cap can rest in the path of the hammer.

8. In a toy pistol having a frame with a barrel and a a cap firinghammer movably mounted on the frame at a position rearwardly of thebarrel for firing a percussion cap, the combination comprising: athin-wall cylindrical tube of ductile metal located within the barreland adapted to direct expanding gases from an exploded cap against aprojectile to shoot the projectile from the pistol,

said tube being smallerin diameter than the barrel; and a stationarymetal frame member located at the rear end of the tube and having a holethrough which the tube passes; said tube having at its rear end anenlarged portion to form a forwardly facing shoulder engaging the rearface of the frame member to hold the tube in place, said enlargedportion also forming on the rear end of the tube an annular anvil spacedslightly from the rear surface of'the frame member against which apercussion cap can be exploded.

' 9. A toy cap pistol as in claim 8 in which the anvil has a centralopening having a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of thetube and the hammer is large enough to completely cover the anvil.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS629,820 Sanders Aug. 1, 1899 754,583 Mason Mar. 15, 1904 1,361,071Kierstead et al. Dec. 7, 1920 2,037,313 Duncanson Apr. 14, 19362,706,356 Vita Apr. 19, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 414,584 Great Britain Aug.9, 1934

